Beginner's Luck
by Reaper of Books
Summary: Declan Cole is the new arrival in camp, claimed by Hermes. For a while, things go smoothly - until something breaks into Camp Half-Blood. Now he has to deal with the mysterious 'Umbrisidia' organization, the usual helter-skelter of the Camp, and the cloak-and-dagger Eros Trio. SYOC closed.
1. Chapter 0

Hello, {Insert Name Here}! This is an SYOC (Submit your own Character, if you didn't know).

Summary -

Declan Cole is a new arrival to camp. Claimed by Hermes, he's shoved into the Cabin (fortunately less stuffed than usual). Things go smoothly - at least, smooth for Camp Half-Blood - until _somebody _attacks the camp, somehow breaking through. So now Declan has to deal with the 'Umbrisidia', as the strange group of Immortals call themselves, the usual helter-skelter of the Camp, and the Eros Trio. They're creepy.

OC Form:

Name:

*Nickname:

Gender:

Age:

Godly Parent:

*History:

Appearance:

Personality:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Fears:

*Weaknesses:

*Habits:

*Quirks:

*Mannerisms:

*Other:

* = Optional


	2. Chapter I

My name is Declan Cole. This is my story.

Let's get things straight first. This is in _my_ view of these events. I'm not very good with words, so deal with it.

I'm fourteen. I'm relatively tall. My skin is tanned. I have hazel eyes (as others have said, at least). My hair is messy and brown. That's enough to give you an image, right?

Anyway...

It started on... April Seventeenth, I think it was. I was in Math class, where the very Hellspawn himself was teaching Math. If you couldn't tell, I _hate _Math. Numbers are stupid. Mr. Shelton - a tall, waif-thin, bald old man, I'm surprised he didn't burst into flames when he crossed his stick-thin, dry legs - was droning on, and on, and on, and on, and on, about numbers. Stupid numbers.

Yes, I do realize I'll get nothing useful done unless I pay attention in class. But numbers are boring, and that's that. So I took a nap - bad decision, I know. But _numbers_, so I'm justified there. Mr. Shelton didn't think so. "Excuse me, Mr. Cole," he said, in his high, whispery voice. "I do believe we are learning?" I sat up, because it would be stupid not to. "Yes, sir," I said, throwing off a lazy salute. Shelton didn't so much as blink. "Ah, that reminds me. Rector Pierce would like to speak to you later."

I groaned inwardly as Mr. Shelton went back to droning. A few of the the other students smirked at me, so I nonchalantly took my butterfly knife out of my pocket and twirled it a little. They promptly looked away.

Don't judge me, okay? It intimidates people, makes you look skilled, and it looks pretty cool. It's useful. That's why I got it. I've never actually stabbed someone, I swear.

So anyway, I 'waited' (read:daydreamed) until class was over. Then, I went to see Rector Pierce, otherwise known has Headmaster Pierce, or Head Piercer, as some students called him. Strict, skeletal, and very attentive. A trickster's worst nightmare. _My _worst nightmare. So anyway, I was on my way to see him. Obviously.

Right as I entered the office building, though, the power went out. _Oh well_, I thought. I'd still have to go to his office. But... something was different. Who thought it was a good idea to put no windows in a building? Creepy. I crept down the long hallway leading up to Pierce's office. I didn't remember this place looking so... abandoned. Slowly, I pulled open his door, peeking inside. Empty.

I scowled to myself. _Getting all riled up over nothing_. He must've left office for a little. Relaxing I turned around - then froze. _I heard someone._

"_Come, little one, don't you want a hug? Come, little one, guts splattered 'cross the rug._"

A throaty, whispering voice penetrated the dark silence. I felt my heart beating faster. _Oh, God, I'm trapped alone with a serial killer_. I slowly shifted backwards, and hit Pierce's office door. Stupid. Should've remembered I was standing against a wall. I slowly shuffled to the left.

_"Don't run. Don't cry. I'm fun. You'll die."_

The voice came again, as if from all directions. God, that was creepy. I was on the verge of panicking. There's the door, just open it...

I pushed against it.

It didn't budge.

_Oooh, shi-_

I panicked.

I made a break down the long hallway, straining my muscles as hard as I could. _Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. _I pushed against it.

Didn't budge. I turned -

and ran into someone.

I fell on my butt, scrambling back frantically until I ran into the still immobile door.

_"Hello, child!"_

I screamed. I'm not ashamed to admit it. If it was a serial killer, it wasn't a human one.

It looked like a woman, taller than me, except with no skin. Still wearing some ragged tatters of clothes, for some unfathomable reason. It only had one eye, the other socket empty. Maggots crawled through its flesh, wriggling and fat. It bled openly from various wounds. It had hands more like claws - fingers more than six inches long, ending in wicked talons.

I whimpered. It's worse than it sounds, as disgusting as it sounds.

It leaned forward, smiling, showing hideously large fangs.

_"Hello, little morsel! You look tasty, don't you? Yes you do!"_

I curled up in a ball. Look, it was _terrifying_, okay?

_"You've been a bad child, haven't you? Bad children are killed, slowly!"_

I started crying. Justifiably.

It opened it's mouth, clicking its teeth together. It grabbed my arm with one of its wicked claws, pulling with hideous strength. For some reason, I only struggled feebly. I felt paralyzed.

It raised my arm up to its mouth, opening its mouth wide, like a snake. I didn't even move.

Then it bit down.

I screamed. Its hideously long fangs went straight through my arm. Through _bone_. I heard it crack. It held its mouth there for a second, before letting go.

_"Delicious! Just like bad boys deserve!"_

I curled up on the ground, whimpering. I cradled my arm. God, it _hurt_. Obviously broken. I really hoped that it wasn't going to do that again.

Actually, I confess; when it was happening, I was really thinking something like, _I'm gonna die, slowly, horribly, painfully, tortured to death by this hideous monstrosity, they'll find my mangled body in a pool of blood, never find my killer, case closed, forgotten._ You can't really imitate that type of vivid horror.

I sobbed, curled in a fetal position. Anyone would've.

_"Are you ready for a second helping? I know I am! G-"_

It suddenly went quiet. I didn't look up, just cradled my arm.

I flinched as something brushed against my arm. As I opened my eyes, though, all I saw was - dust. No monster lady.

And someone standing a few feet away.

I pushed myself up against the wall, cradling my arm. "Who're you?" I muttered, wiping away a tear.

The stranger stepped forward.

It was no stranger.

It was Rector Pierce.

I blinked, stunned. Then I saw a large scorpion tail behind him.

I screamed for the second time that day.

"Hm? Oh." He looked behind him, and quickly tucked the tail away. Somewhere. "Don't worry, I'm on your side." His voice was slightly amused, but also a bit hoarse with age and clipped, though his icy blue eyes looked amused. "I see I was too late to stop it. Oh, well." He offered a hand. I accepted, pulling myself up.

"What are you, and where'd the creepy monster go?"

"He smirked, wiping a little dust off his immaculate suit. "I'm a Manticore. Surely you pay attention in Social Studies? I believe Mr. Valdez teaches that. Good man."

I blinked. "Uh, weren't Manticores monsters? Bad guys?"

He frowned. "Rather rude of you. Besides, don't the Furies work for Hades? Don't the Cyclops work for the Gods? At Camp, I've heard they even have a trained Hellhound, _and _a dragon. Besides, I'm a civil man - I tell a lie, a civil Manticore. And that despicable creature that is now thankfully dust was a Mormo. Rather like a boogeyman. Supposed to bite bad children, though nowadays they settle for any children at all. No wonder you couldn't move - they have an aura of paralyzing fear. I had to kill it from several meters away."

I blinked, and settled on one question. "Camp?"

He nodded. "Our next destination." He started walking, gesturing for me to follow.

"Uh..." I said. Pierce looked back, annoyed. I gestured towards my arm. "Aah, nearly forgot!" He threw me a square of golden... stuff. "Ambrosia. Eat it. Good for you." Then he continued walking.

Annoyed, slightly, I popped it into my mouth. Immediately, my mouth was filled with the flavor of fresh mango. Weird, but tasty. Suddenly, my arm felt better. I moved it.

_Ooow. _

Okay, not that much better. I followed him, cradling my arm. Apparently, he busted the door down. It was twisted, looked like a cannon shot it. I carefully stepped through.

"So... where are we going?"

"I'll tell you when we get there!"

"...That's, uh, not very helpful, you know."

"Yes, I _do _know. Now be quiet for a second."

He stopped right outside, next to the forest that was to the left of school. He pulled something out of his pocket, threw it on the road, and muttered something under his breath.

Soon enough, a grey taxi cab stopped right outside.

"Uh... that looks a little suspicious."

"Oh, just get in. It's relatively safe, I swear it."

_"Relatively?"_

"That's what I said, didn't I? Get _in_."

* * *

I stumbled out of the cab as it sped off. I fell on my knees, dry heaving.

Pierce stepped past me, whistling cheerfully. He paused, then turned around.

"Well, then? Places to be, places to go! Come on!"

I lifted a finger - 'wait a second' - and then vomited noisily. Pierce rolled his eyes.

I slowly got back up. I was never riding on that cab, _never again_.

The cab had dropped us off at a hill, in the middle of a forest. I didn't know where we were. I had been to busy being nauseous to pay attention.

We climbed the hill, and at the top...

I gasped.

Pierce grinned, raising his arms as if in greeting.

"Welcome! To Camp Half-Blood!"


	3. Chapter II

Where was I...?

Huh. I was... in a cabin of some sort. I sat up, blinking blearily, and then immediately sat down.

_Ooooow._

Now I remembered. The, err, Mormo, Rector Pierce, the Camp...

But when did I fall asleep?

I looked around. Wood floors. Lots of beds, lined up. Like a hospital. Some people were in the beds, but, uh, I didn't look to closely. Nasty wounds. No windows. Only one exit, on one side of the long, narrow room.

I sat up again, paying attention to my arm. Huh, someone had bandaged it. How nice. I noticed people tending to the wounded. How convenient. I needed information.

"Hey," I called to one of them. He turned.

"Where am I?"

"Camp Half-Blood."

I glared. "I know _that_. I mean, _where _am I?"

"Oh. Uh, Big House, Infirmary section."

"That's better." I slid my legs off the bed. I could stand fine, thankfully. "Now I think I'll be leaving."

Immediately the person grabbed my shoulder. "Nope. Can't leave Camp."

I shoved him a little, glaring. "Leaving the _building_, I mean."

He shrank back slightly. "Fine, fine."

I walked down to the door, pushed it open. I entered a big room, looked like a lobby. Hunting trophies, an arcade game set in the corner. A way outside. A little tacky looking, in my opinion. I pushed the door open, stepping out.

I blinked in the sun. Huh. I was expecting night, but apparently not. The first thing I saw were cabins. Then a forest. And then a centaur talking to a boy.

I blinked. I blinked again.

Huh.

Rector Pierce was weirder.

The Centaur, seeing me, smiled, waving me over. I reluctantly complied.

"Welcome, Declan! Pierce told me about you. Welcome to Camp."

I just sorta nodded in agreement. The other kid he had been talking to was giving me a curious look that sorta creeped me out. Undaunted, the Centaur continued.

"I'm Chiron, Activities Director of the Camp. The Camp Director is Mr. D. And _you,_ Declan, are a Son of Hermes. I'll show you the cabin later!" He beamed at me.

I blinked. I blinked again.

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "No one explained, boy? Fine, I'll do it myself."

He cleared his throat. I just... waited for his explanation.

"This Camp - Camp Half-Blood - was made for the protection of Demigods. Demigods are, in fact, the sons and daughter of the gods and goddesses. Greek ones, mind you. As soon as you arrive, you are claimed by your godly parent. Unless you under thirteen, of course. Each Cabin is dedicated to a certain God or Goddess, and their children live in their cabin. The Golden Fleece protects us from monsters breaking in, except, of course, for those who have been invited in, like the monsters we order for our forest. Or our Rector Pierce. Good man! I meant monster. I tell you, he's a revolutionary. He'll be convincing monsters all over to work for us. Anyway, as I was saying..."

"You were claimed by Hermes as you slept. Shame you missed it. Anyway, you'll be introduced around Camp, shown the cabins, told the schedule, and generally be introduced. So, Welcome!" He beamed again.

I blinked. "Oh...kay. That, uh, actually makes a little sense. Especially because of last night." I shuddered.

I stumbled forward slightly as he slapped me on the back. "Good! Once again, welcome! Anyway, Ace here'll show you 'round. Now, I should be off!"

He turned around, heading for the Big House. The boy - Ace - looked a little exasperated.

"C'mon, then, new boy. I'll show you Camp."

He set off without waiting for me. Hmph. I jogged to catch up.

As we walked, he listed the schedule.

"Okay, new kid, schedule goes like this; Breakfast and Cabin Inspection - your siblings'll tell you more, later - in the morning, then Ancient Greek. After that, it's either cleaning stables, pickin' strawberries, polishing armor, or lunch preparation. Depends on what day. After that, it's either Javelin throwing, Archery, sword skills, or Pegasus riding. After that, Lunch. After that, tracking, wrestling, armor making, and whatnot. Then firework-making, woodchopping, laundry, letters home, or cabin cleaning. Then free time, then dinner. After that, it's usually a competition of some sort. Capture the Flag's popular. Sometimes climbing wall, though the lava makes it unpopular."

Now that he was showing me around, I took the opportunity to examine him. He was wearing all black, a T-shirt, jeans, high cut vans, and a hoodie. His hair was pitch black, though it had some cool looking red streaks in it. He looked pretty athletic - though, by the sound of the schedule, that wouldn't be rare here. His eyes were an icy blue, and he had two piercings in his left ear. His accent, when he was talking, was strong. Australian? A little English, maybe?

Strangely enough, he also had two sheathed swords. The sheathes were, uh, glowing purple. Creepy.

"You _like _what you're seein', or are you gonna _pay attention_?"

"Sorry," I mumbled. He sighed, speeding up slightly.

"So..." I started uneasily. "Which deity is your parent?" It feels really weird to say that. I'd still have to get use to having a cabin full of siblings. Or half-siblings, I guess.

"Hades," Ace replied. Simple and short. "And before you ask, he was actually supposed to be one of the more decent gods."

"Okay, okay," I mumbled again. So this is what if felt like to be the new guy at a camp full of half gods.

Ace sighed, looking down for a second. "Sorry. Hard to get use to, eh?" He grinned. Huh. He had dimples.

I grinned in return. "Definitely."

"Anyway," Ace continued, getting back to business, "This is your cabin." He spread his arms out.

The cabin was... a little disappointing. Looked... old, its dull brown paint chipped, a caduceus hanging above the door.

"Great, isn't it?" Ace said, grinning.

"Absolutely perfect," I replied, rolling my eyes. As I said it, someone opened the door to the cabin and stepped out.

"Ah, just in time," Ace muttered under his breath, then continued in a louder voice, "Oi, Brooker! I've got a new one for you!"

They boy - Brooker, apparently? - grinned, jumping down the steps by twos.

"Ah, come off it, Aussie. I'm _Ben_."

Ace grimaced. I took a mental note not to call him Aussie. "This is Declan. Declan, this is Benjamin Brooker, Counselor of Hermes Cabin. Means he's technically your boss."

Ben grinned, offering a hand. I shook it. "Nice to meet you, Declan. I'll be sure to tell the other's that you have a week of protection."

I blinked. "What?"

"Means they won't prank you yet," he said. Oh, yay.

I took the time to examine him - after all, he was technically my boss. He had sandy hair and brown eyes with blue flecks. He had a few freckles. He also had a very suspicious look in his eye. Good thing I had a week of protection. He was surprisingly skinny for a guy with a strong handshake.

"I'm guessing Pierce brought you in?"

I blinked. "Uh, yeah. How'd you -"

"You smell of Manticore." And with that, he was off.

I blinked. Did I really? Hmph. Not important.

"Well," Ace started, "Next is-"

Then a horn rang out. The crowds of campers turned.

"Ah, good," Ace grinned. "Dinner!"

* * *

Yeah, I didn't introduce to many. But! Next Chapter shall be Dinner and Capture the Flag. More Introductions and Fun then!


	4. Chapter III

Declan here.

Anyway, where was I...?

Oh yeah, dinner.

Anyway, Ace and I walked over to the Pavilion, where people were already gathering.

"So. I suppose you don't need to tell me anything about this?" I asked.

Ace looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah. Our food is whatever we want it to be, and first, we sacrifice some to our parents. We _used _to have to sit only at specific tables, but they changed that. Sit wherever."

Well, I suppose that was helpful.

So, Ace showed me where the Hermes table was before wandering off, presumably to his table. The table was fairly crowded, and I'm pretty sure that most of them were children of Hermes. In front of me was a plate and a goblet. Or maybe chalice would be more accurate.

After a minute or two of awkward sitting, everyone went quiet as people started making the sacrifices. I didn't really know what to do, but by watching others, I deduced - rather cleverly, if I may say so myself, which I may - that the whatever food or drink you wanted, just say it, and it shalt be thine own. Or whatever.

I just shuffled along the line until it was my turn, then just sort of tossed my food in and then sat back down. Really, people should specify more details to the new kids. They're lucky I'm so clever.

Anyway, I'm sure you wouldn't like to just read about me eating and drinking. That's sorta boring.

Afterwards, the crowd of demigods - including me - moved towards the forest, where Chiron stood just outside it.

"Campers!" he started. The crowd quickly went quiet.

Chiron smirked.

"Tonight! It is time for the trial of strength! Of wit! Of _skill_! Tonight..."

He spread his arms in an expansive gesture, then threw his head back dramatically.

"Is _Capture the Flag!_"

The crowd immediately started cheering. I wondered if Chiron had ever thought of being an actor.

Shushing the crowd, he brought out a list.

"Blue Team! Zeus Cabin, Hermes Cabin, Hades Cabin..." He listed a few more that I didn't really catch.

"Red Team!" He listed some more. At some point, there was a groan from Blue Team and a cheer from Red. I'm not sure what about, though.

The Cabins spread into their teams. Catching sight of Ace conversing with a blonde-haired, dark-eyed girl, I immediately headed for him. After all, he was one of the few people I actually _knew _here.

"So, what do I do?"

He looked back, then made a 'just-a-second' gesture to the girl, who rolled her eyes before walking off.

"Just follow everyone. I'm expecting Paris-" he sneered slightly, "-to take lead, as usual."

He tossed me a helmet and a sword.

"And here's your gear. Too late to get you a real weapon, so you'll have to stick with that for now."

He made as if to run forward, but then paused. He looked back, said, "And watch out for the Eros Trio," and then rushed off.

Well, that was both ominous and unhelpful.

I wiggled the helmet onto my head, tested the blade. Wasn't very good. Bad balance. Oh well.

Our team set up our flag on a rock that, from what I heard, was called 'Zeus's Fist'. Weird, but it didn't really matter.

There was... I assume planning, but I happened to have missed most of it. Luckily, I happened to catch the attention of one group.

"Oi, new kid," said one boy. He had a sort of rocker look about him, probably helped by the unmistakable air of arrogance around him. He had jet black hair and green eyes with a hint of hazel. He smirked at me and beckoned me over. I could already guess who he probably was.

"I'm Alexander Paris," he said. Yeah, I guessed right.

He gestured towards... somewhere. "You can stay with me. Since you're new, of course. Me and the rest of this group, Ace-" I looked over, and he gave me a sort of halfhearted, sarcastic salute.

"-Lizzie-" he gestured towards a girl with long, blonde hair, bright blue eyes, tough skin, and, strangely, a crooked nose, like she'd broken it before, more than once. She smirked, giving a single nod.

"-Grace-" She was a dark-skinned girl with really creepy, pitch black eyes, sleek skin, and bright red lips. She didn't say anything.

"-and Ariel,-" A girl with long, auburn hair, dark brown eyes, and tanned skin. She winked. Her looks had a sort of... pixie-like hint to them.

"-are gonna go for the flag."

Without another word, Paris set off.

The rest of us just sighed and followed.

* * *

I'm gonna skip the boring part. All we did was creep through the forest. The only close encounter we had is when we almost ran into a group of Ares Campers, but we hid 'til they passed.

Anyway, to the good part.

The Red Team had hid their flag in an open clearing, right in the middle, Only one guard was their, lazily kicking a rock around.

Paris gestured for Grace to move, and she crept around the edge of the clearing, quiet as a shadow. Then, when the guard turned his back, she rushed forward and then - _thump_. The guard collapsed on the ground. When he woke up, he was gonna have a killer headache.

Paris stood from his crouch, smirking. "C'mon, then. Let's win this."

We advanced towards the flag. Halfway across the clearing, though, an alarm went off in my head. I turned quickly. I could've sworn I had seen something...

"C'mon, newbie," Paris hissed impatiently. "Don't have all day."

Ace grabbed his arm before anything else happened. "Wait, Paris. They wouldn't have set up only one guard. And we're forgetting a certain group of three, _remember_?"

Paris jerked his arm away, sneering. "I could handle those freaks any day. Now let's _go_-"

Ariel sighed. "C'mon, Thunderboy. Don't you know to be a bit more cautious?"

Paris snarled, drawing himself up-

There was the sound of a sword being drawn.

We immediately stopped arguing, looking around. No one.

Paris reached for his sword-

Which wasn't there.

"_Trés attentif, _Thunderer! Mayhaps you should listen to your allies?"

Paris's sword swung slowly in circles in midair behind him, then suddenly spun and then-

_Thwack!_

-slammed into a tree behind me.

I paled. I felt the blade pass by my face, the wind brush against me as it passed...

Slowly, a hand materialized where the sword had been. Then an arm. Slowly, a whole body appeared. Then two more.

Three males, all dressed similarly. All I could tell of them was that their eyes were a crimson red, their skin was dark, an olive skin tone, and that all three had tattoos. The first one had a snake tattoo winding around his neck, the second had a similar tattoo circling his right eye, and the last one had his snake tattoo winding up his arm. All three were dressed similarly - they all wore black jeans, black and blue, military-style combat boots, a short-sleeved black T-shirt, black leather gloves, and a black bandanna covering their face from the eyes down, so all you could see of their body was their arms, foreheads, eyes, and wild black hair.

"Ahah, _du sang neuf?_"

All three bowed in unison, then resumed walking in a slow circle. Their motions were almost hypnotic, the way the rotated in a circle.

"They call me Mamba," the one with the tattoo around his neck said.

"They call me Cobra," the one with the tattoo around his eye said.

"They call me Python," the one with the tattoo around his arm said.

"The Eros Trio," Ace moaned. "We're _screwed._"

"_Plus vraie que vous pensez,_ Son of Hades," Mamba said. So far, he seemed to be the speaker for the group.

"To get the flag, you'll have to get through... _us,_" And suddenly, the darted inward from the circle they had been walking in, and then... disappeared.

I drew my sword. Not that it was gonna help much.

Lizzie and Ariel drew their swords, and Grace had apparently already drawn her weapon - some sort of weird, tiger-claw things.

Suddenly, Grace swung her claws to the side, and Python appeared from the air, flipping backwards and landing on his feet.

"Ah, _tres bien_! Finally, some fun!" With that, he disappeared.

I caught a flicker out of the corner of my eye, and panicked. I swung hard, but something jabbed me in the stomach. I flinched, but as soon as I did, something whisked the sword out of my hand, quick as a wink.

Cobra winked into view in front of me, swinging my sword. Then, with a twitch of his arm, it launched and landed in the tree with a _twang_, right next to Paris's sword.

Cobra winked. "Two down." Then he disappeared.

Ace, Grace, Lizzie, and Ariel had formed a sort of square with their backs against each other.

Mamba appeared a few feet away from them, one hand held out. "_Allez, s'il vous plaît. _A diamond for us poor sinners, Son of Hades?"

Ace snarled, holding his two black swords in an X in front of him. "No chance."

Mamba clasped his hands together dramatically, leaning forward. "Please, _monsieur_. Some color in our life." I swore he actually had a hint of begging in his voice.

Ace just sneered, scraping his swords together.

Mamba straightened, his look of playfulness replaced with a cold anger. "So be it. No mercy for you, miser."

He disappeared.

Ace drew a dagger from its sheathe, then tossed it to me. "C'mon, Declan! We need all the help we can get!" I wonder if Ace realized that Paris was sitting quietly, seething in fury, against a tree. He probably did, now that I think of it.

I joined their circle, holding my dagger in front of me.

"What was that diamond thing about?" I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.

Ace hesitated a second, then said, "They're... sick, or something. Can only see grey, black, and white. Colorblind or something. They can see real colors in diamonds, somehow. They're obsessed with colors."

As he finished, Python appeared while we were distracted, kicked Lizzie hard in the leg, ducked a swing from Grace, grabbed Lizzie's arm...

And they both disappeared.

I could only hope they would go easy on the new guy.

Ace flinched as Mamba flickered into view, then parried a slash from Mamba's dagger, but folded up as the hilt of Mamba's dagger slammed into his stomach. In one fluid motion, Mamba brought his boot up and kicked Ace in the chin. Ace's head snapped up and he sprawled on his back, dropping his swords. His helmet dropped with a rattle, spinning on the ground for a second.

_Ouch._

I'm not sure if that was allowed.

"Err, Ace?" He didn't move.

"Ace?" I nudged him with my foot. Unconscious.

I was screwed.

Our circle drew closer.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paris make an attempt to sneak pass to the flag. For a second I let my hopes rise.

Then Cobra appeared and slammed the hilt of his dagger into the back of his head. Paris crumpled.

My hopes fell.

Suddenly all three of the Eros Trio flickered into view. They walked slowly around our circle, their hands folded behind their backs. We watched them cautiously.

This didn't save us.

All three lunged forward. Grace slashed her claws in an X motion, forcing Cobra back, but Python struggled with Ariel, their blades locked. I managed to bring my dagger up in time to deflect Mamba's dagger, but folded when he punched me, hard, in the gut. It felt like a brick, and I crumpled onto the ground.

With falling hopes, I saw Cobra thump Ariel on the head, Python catching her body, and then them both disappearing. Grace spun around warily, trying to keep all angles in view.

Suddenly, Cobra appeared in front of her, feinting forward. She caught his blade in a lock right as Python lunged from her right. She kicked him viciously in his ribs, but as he fell, vanishing, Mamba appeared behind her, and thumped her smartly across her head.

As Python caught her body and disappeared, Mamba approached me where I was helplessly lying.

"This shan't hurt a bit," he said, winking. Then he brought his dagger up, and-

* * *

_Ooow..._

I woke up, rubbing my head. I could feel a growing bump on my head. Damned Trio...

I looked around. We were in some part of the forest. Around me sat Paris, Lizzie, Ariel, and Grace. Ace was sprawled across the ground unceremoniously.

"Welcome to the jail, newbie," Paris said. He was obviously gloomy over our humiliating defeat. "We can get out once the game is over."

I sighed.


	5. Author's Note

**Okay, I have no excuse. Many stories like these tend to stop and die. I've pretty much ignored mine. I hate it when others do that. I shouldn't be a hypocrite and do the same thing I hate in others. My only excuse is laziness. I regret stopping now, so rest assured that I will start writing again. It may take me awhile to get back in pace, but know that I ****_will_**** be updating again. Sorry for taking such an extremely long time.**

**Hang Together,**

**Reaper of Books**


	6. Chapter IV

Slowly, I woke up.

I was back in my cabin - my very crowded cabin - in my bed. I still had a killer headache from yesterday.

Ugh, yesterday was an embarrassing first day.

I planned for today to be better. So I started off this one by rolling off the bed and smacking my face on the floor.

"Bloody hell," I muttered, then stood up.

"Good morning," Brooker said. He was sitting next to the door, sipping at a cup of coffee. "Breakfast soon."

"Where did you get that?" I muttered.

"None of your business, rookie. Get to the Pavilion," he said.

"I'll find out," I warned him. For some reason, he was smirking.

On my way to the Pavilion, I spotted Ace.

"Morning," I said. He developed a sudden cough.

"What?" I said.

"Nothing," he said, smirking.

I sat next to him at the far end of one of the tables. People kept looking at me and then looking away much faster.

"What's the deal with all these looks I'm getting?" I whispered to Ace.

He shrugged.

Soon, we started lining up for sacrifices. Chiron came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and pulled me out of line.

"Umm..." He started. "You might want to..."

"What?"

"You're, umm..."

"Can I eat now?" I said impatiently. I was really hungry, and I couldn't see the reason why everyone was looking at me like I was a shaved bear.

Chiron sighed.

"You're still wearing your boxers."

I looked down. I blushed and suddenly felt very vulnerable. Then I remembered Brooker smirking at me.

"I am going to _kill_ him," I said under my breathe and stomped back to my cabin.

* * *

It was afternoon, free time. I had to endure everyone smirking at me all day like I was a dork. Someone would have to pay.

"It _was_ pretty funny," Ace said.

" I must've not been thinking straight. Bloody bump on my head."

"How do you think _I _feel?" Ace tilted his head back, showing a nasty bruise on the bottom of his chin.

"What was with th- speak of the devil," I muttered. The Eros brothers were leaning against the building across the field we were talking next to.

I started walking towards them. Ace did a double take and hurried to catch up to me.

"This isn't a good idea," he warned.

"I don't _care._ I'm going to teach 'em a lesson."

"Uh, this has never gone well for others, you should really-"

"No."

"Your funeral," he warned.

I stomped up to the three creeps. They didn't move, only stared in a slightly amused manner that most people reserve for silly animals.

"Why the hell did you do that to us yesterday?" I demanded.

"You were on the other team," Cobra said simply. "We did our job."

"Don't bloody pal around with me. You guys are gonna have us sore for _days_."

Cobra smiled. "Good."

I sighed in an exasperated manner and promptly started ripping into them. "And what was the deal with the way you introduced yourself? I haven't seen such a bloody cheesy intro since I watched cartoons from the '80s! And I haven't seen a more overly dramatic act since the circus! And the gratuitous foreign language phrases are just plain stupid. No one even understood half of what you bloody idiots said! And the matching clothes make you look like the bloody _Brady Bunch_! And your stupid nicknames! Generally people introduce themselves by their _names_, not their cheesy-as-hell nicknames!"

They were silent for a second. Then Python smirked. "Well, boy-o, you're not exactly-"

"Shut the _fuck _up!" I shouted. I noticed the passing people giving us a wide berth and, out of the corner of my eye, Ace cringing.

The three freaks didn't move, but I noticed all the amusement had drained from their eyes. Now their eyes looked more like how a corpse would look if it could glare.

Mamba leaned forward until his face was uncomfortably close to mine. I tried to move, but suddenly Cobra was behind me, and with lightning speed had one of my arms twisted forward and had a gloved hand pulling my chin up, exposing my neck. Python stood to the side, idly twirling a knife and smirking.

"You will watch your language when you talk to us," Mamba said, each word dropping into place carefully and precisely. His accent had vanished.

"We act this way - as you say, 'cheesy' - because people like the real us even less." He held his hand out towards Python, who gave him his knife by the handle.

"You know, before we came here, we spent some time in jail," he continued conversationally. "And after that it was the Mental Health Resource Center. It was actually very nice," he said, laughing lightly. "All three of us. We always acted as one. The individual's need was the group's need. We never bickered like you and your petty friends. We even stuck together in court. You know, all three of us have been diagnosed with Asperger's. Sometimes I wonder if it was something worse," he said, and laughed again, but this time, more bitter and sad than happy.

He held the knife up to the light, inspecting it, then lowered it so the edge rested on my throat.

God, these guys were freaky.

"Let me go," I whispered hoarsely.

Mamba smiled sadly. "I wish I could. But you must be taught a lesson. And the thing is, I know what I'm doing is wrong. In another world, we could even be friends, maybe. But no."

"I can _smell_ the crazy coming off you," I sneered. Mamba leaned forward.

"Ah, you might smell it," he said, "but I can _taste_ it."

He smiled sadly and continued, "I don't know if you can tell, but even now I'm still a little dramatic. I'm trying to intimidate you, can you tell? Is it working?"

"Let _go_."

Mamba sighed. "You are persistent and, I must admit, brave. But in the future, remember this. We resort to drastic measures." He handed the knife back to Python, and suddenly Cobra let go.

I stumbled backwards, sneering. "You guys are broken."

Mamba sighed. "We know. and one day, we hope someone will fix us." I could've sworn his voice wavered for a second.

Then the three turned away and walked off.

"Oh, and by the way," Mamba said over his shoulder, "My real name is Gabriel. It was nice meeting you, Declan."

Then they were gone.

"Crazy bastards," I muttered, rubbing my neck. I can still remember the edge of the blade resting on my skin.

"Told you," Ace said. I noticed how Ace was the only one who had even bothered to watch from a distance. Everyone else very steadfastly looked the other way.

"Did he tell you that he went to jail once?" he asked. I noticed that he seemed to have gone a little more pale than usual.

"Yeah," I said. "Freaks."

"C'mon," Ace said. "It'll be dinner soon. Just try to pretend that never happened."

Food sounded good about now.

* * *

**This chapter was mostly a warm-up so I can get used to writing again and to provide more background on the Eros Trio. Next chapter should be more plot-related.**

**Hang Together,**

**Reaper of Books**


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